Internships

APL NASA Intern Program

Spend a summer at APL working with the nation's leading space scientists and engineers on NASA missions or space-related research projects.

Eligibility: Rising sophomore, junior, senior or early graduate level as of fall of the program year; min. GPA 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; U.S. citizen; certification of approved background investigation.

Work Location: Students participating in the APL NASA Intern Program will be assigned to summer positions at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and will make critical contributions to current and future missions and grants during their assignments in the Space Sector.

Description: The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is a not-for-profit center for engineering, research and development. APL is a division of one of the world's premier research universities, Johns Hopkins. The 453-acre campus, 20 miles north of Washington, DC, is home to over 6,500 men and women who work on more than 600 programs that protect our homeland and advance the nation's vision in research and space science.

Contributions made by previous NASA/APL interns...

Elizabeth developed models for environmental effects on spacecraft attitude in orbit and implemented models for disturbance torques from solar pressure, atmospheric drag, and electromagnetic charging. She added models for the Earth's atmosphere (density versus altitude) and magnetic field and ran simulations for 2-day samples over the 2-year mission duration to determine the effects of these torques on spacecraft spin axis direction and spin rate.

Along with equipping and configuring an analog electronics laboratory at APL, Peter conducted measurements and also designed, built, and tested prototype circuitry. He also performed microwave network analysis measurements and contributed significantly to a memo on gravity gradient devices.

Azeem developed and tested reusable flight software components, developed metrics and benchmarks to evaluate the overhead of the approach, and participated in the development of reports and presentations that described the results.

Leah used software tools to analyze Radiation Belt Storm Probes prototype applications and to create a model of the design and calling structure. They will evaluate the design model and provide feedback to the developers to improve the overall software architecture.

Edgar measured the volume resistivity of dielectric materials being considered for use on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes. He also designed, built, and tested custom electrical ground support equipment to interface between off-the-shelf equipment and the power remote input/output test board. In addition, he supported the test and troubleshooting of deliverable power distribution unit flight-like hardware for the New Horizons program.

Dan updated the business plan through market/budget analyses and supported the APL process for taking new ideas through early analyses in the Advanced Concept process to Pre-Proposal activity. He was instrumental in the development of business metrics and the balanced scorecard used by senior management to track progress toward achieving strategic goals.

During his summer internship, Matt supported the New Horizons Mission Operations team by developing software tools to analyze the results of command sequences executed on the spacecraft hardware simulator.

Jack's summer project involved examining high-resolution images of solar flares obtained from the Yohkoh and SoHO spacecrafts to determine how often and in what relationship to the magnetic fields solar eruptions occur. His work will assist the development of theoretical models for solar flares currently in progress at APL.

Tom performed a detailed study and analysis using available MESSENGER guidance and control flight telemetry, then used this information to estimate MESSENGER dynamic parameters (center of mass, inertia, mass).

APL's Civil Space Mission Area makes critical contributions to the missions of its major sponsor, NASA, to meet the challenges of space science. They conduct research and space exploration; develop and apply space science, engineering, and technology—including the production of one-of-a-kind spacecraft, instruments, and subsystems; and focus primarily on the science discipline of space physics and planetary science. The Laboratory has built instruments and spacecraft to destinations such as Pluto, Mercury, the Sun and our moon. Continuing these challenges, APL is supporting NASA as it implements initiatives to explore the reaches of our solar system.

Their purpose is to advance the knowledge and use of space for the benefit of humankind and to support national objectives by providing leadership in developing innovative, cost-effective, end-to-end space missions. APL has designed, developed and launched 69 spacecraft and over 200 space instruments, and are developing new space concepts, technology, and implementation strategies while also helping to heighten interest in scientist and engineering careers through space educational programs.

JHU/APL College Summer Internships

APL offers science and engineering internships each summer. The program provides practical work experience and an introduction to APL. Students spend the summer working with APL scientists and engineers, conducting research, developing leadership skills, and growing professionally.